Dial the hotline for a university offer
TODAY, hundreds of thousands of teenagers across the country will receive their A-level results. For many, the hard work will have paid off as they achieve the grades they need to secure a place at university.
However, others face disappointment when they discover their grades have slipped and they have not met their conditional offers.
Some students will demand remarks or go on to do resits, while tens of thousands are likely to opt to go through the Clearing process.
Just under 60,000 people found their university or college place this way last year. To take part, students must have applied through Ucas (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) and not received any offers; declined all their offers; not responded by the due date or not achieved the required grades.
Official vacancy lists are published on the Ucas website and they are updated continually.
University Clearing hotlines also give up-to-date information on the courses they offer so it is important to hit them as soon as they open today.
Last year, Destiny Fakayode didn’t quite secure the A-level grades she needed for her initial nursing degree choices. She had already experienced some niggling doubts about studying the subject and decided to look at some of the other courses available in the Clearing process.
The 19-year- old from Hornchurch, Essex, discovered that Kingston University had spaces on its BSc ( Hons) International Business Experience course. A call to the university’s Clearing hotline led to Destiny being offered a place. She says: ‘Not getting on to my first choice degree was obviously a disappointment at first, but I’d always been interested in business and it dawned on me that I might have been a bit hasty in my decision to choose nursing.
‘When I called the hotline I was worried that I wouldn’t be as attractive to the university as other students as I’d initially been heading toward a different course subject.
‘I was put through to the course director, though, who took the time to talk to me about my interests and strengths to ensure I matched the course requirements.’
Destiny is now enjoying the threeyear fast-track course, which allows students to acquire experience in an organisation for up to a year, or start a business, and she has passed her first year with flying colours.
Meanwhile, today, Kingston University admissions tutor, Dr Gillian Christie, will be taking calls from some, undoubtedly rather stressed applicants, interested in studying pharmaceutical science, pharmacology, chemistry and pharmacy.
Her top tip for students is to make sure they are enthusiastic when phoning the Clearing hotline.
She says: ‘ My academic colleagues and I look for students who can demonstrate a real passion for their chosen subject area and will make the most of everything life on campus has to offer.’
KingSTon University’s hotline: 0800 0483 334. open from 7.30am.